William A. Liess is a current airline captain, retired U.S. Air Force colonel, and inactive attorney with more than 30 years of experience spanning commercial aviation, military flight operations, aircraft maintenance leadership, aviation safety, and related legal and regulatory matters.
Mr. Liess currently serves as an Airbus A320 captain for a major U.S. airline. Over the course of his civilian and military career, he has accumulated more than 9,400 flight hours, including extensive experience as a command pilot, instructor pilot, examiner pilot, and organizational commander. His aircraft experience includes the Airbus A320 family, KC-46A (B-767), KC-135 (B-707), C-32B (B-757), MD-80, Boeing 727 (flight engineer), and numerous other military and general aviation platforms.
As a senior leader in the United States Air Force and New Jersey Air National Guard, Mr. Liess commanded multi-mission aviation organizations encompassing flight operations, aircraft maintenance, intelligence, cyber operations, and support functions. He most recently commanded a six-squadron operations group that included air refueling and special operations missions and led a unit conversion from the KC-135 to the KC-46 tanker platform. He previously commanded an aircraft maintenance squadron, overseeing maintenance operations, inspections, technical compliance, and aircraft readiness programs.
In addition to his aviation experience, Mr. Liess is an inactive attorney and former associate at large law firms in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. His practice included litigation and advisory engagements involving government contracts, regulatory compliance, national security matters, and aviation-related disputes. He also served a judicial clerkship on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Mr. Liess provides consulting and expert advisory services involving:
• Commercial and military flight operations
• Aviation safety and operational risk analysis
• Aircraft maintenance and airworthiness programs
• FAA regulatory compliance and standards of care
• Crew resource management and human factors
• Aviation organizational restructuring and operational integration
• Safety management systems (SMS) and operational auditing
• Technical aviation analysis and litigation support
Mr. Liess earned his Juris Doctor, with highest honors, from Rutgers School of Law, Camden, and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Rutgers Law Journal. He holds a Master of Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ